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Students have a maximum of 8 years to complete this course for standard admissions (6 years for students admitted with block credit) including any periods of intermission and suspension, and must be continuously enrolled throughout.

Description

This course will prepare you for a career as a skilled, critical and effective educator in the early childhood sector. You will learn how to work with young children with varied needs to develop their creative, intellectual, physical, personal and social capabilities and how to foster their learning in diverse ways. Professional experience placements offered throughout the course will build your knowledge of early childhood teaching and learning.

You will be qualified to teach infants and children from birth to six years of age in childcare, kindergartens and preschools. The curriculum spans birth to eight years of age and you will learn how to engage young children in meaningful learning through innovative pedagogical practice and how to effectively support children's transition to school. You will also learn how to help young children develop their creative, physical, personal, intellectual and social capabilities.

Professional experience expenses

Students are responsible for any expenses incurred while undertaking professional experience (e.g. transport, equipment).

Structure

The course develops through the themes of education studies and integrated curriculum and discipline studies that come together in professional studies.

Part A. Education studies

These studies provide the theoretical foundations of education that underpin the teaching and learning of young children in varied education settings. You will study contemporary theories of child development, focusing on the birth to eight years age range. You will also study sociology, psychology, diversity and inclusion, the broad principles of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment, and develop an understanding of the relationship between education and society at local, national and global levels. These studies emphasise educational inquiry and will ensure that your teaching is informed by current research and practice. You will acquire the foundations to move into leadership roles as your career progresses.

Part B. Integrated curriculum and discipline studies

These studies develop the knowledge and skills you will need to become a skilled and effective educator who is able to draw on an ever-growing and flexible repertoire of strategies to suit particular children, educational contexts and learning outcomes. You will learn how to design, plan and implement engaging, innovative and productive learning experiences in order to meet diverse learners' needs. You will also develop your content knowledge in the subjects you will be teaching in early childhood education settings. The emphasis is on exploring young children's learning holistically in diverse contexts, through a range of pedagogical perspectives and practices.

Part C. Professional studies

These studies will provide you with an understanding of professional identity and leadership as well as professional experience through the completion of supervised placement in early childhood settings. Professional experience connects the theoretical components of the other themes with practical aspects of teaching and learning. You will complete the minimum number of days of professional experience required for professional registration.

Requirements

This course comprises 144 points. Students admitted on the basis of an eligible prior qualification will be given credit for the level 1 units or for the level 1 and 2 units in the course, depending on the prior qualification.

The course develops through theme studies in Part A. Education studies, Part B. Integrated curriculum and discipline studies, and Part C. Professional studies.